


quidditch captain

by dahliaaaa



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Harry Potter Fanfiction Club Server's Winter Challenge II, Quidditch, Slytherin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 09:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29748741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahliaaaa/pseuds/dahliaaaa
Summary: Millicent Bulstrode is betrothed to a Quidditch Captain. Which one could it be?
Relationships: Millicent Bulstrode/Marcus Flint, Millicent Bulstrode/Zacharias Smith
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	quidditch captain

“Quidditch captain.” Her mother had said after Millicent had begged for nearly an hour to know something about the boy.

“He’s a quidditch captain.” Millicent hadn’t been able to contain her smile as she bounded up the stairs two at a time to write a letter to Pansy.

Pansy,

It’s him, Pansy, it’s really him.  
I’m going to be betrothed to Zacharias Smith.  
I can hardly believe it.  
It’s going to be perfect. 

I told you, the ball last year was only the beginning!  
Millicent Bustrode

She tied the letter carefully to Figgy’s leg, giving him a small handful of berries before sending him off.

Millicent then turned her attention to her closet, digging through it for Zachary’s favorite dress: A yellow sundress. She’d bought it for their first date to Hogsmeade. She had been hesitant to go with him at first; he had never been the type of person she pictured herself with, but over the past year and a half, Zacharias had grown on her.

She was sure that they were meant to be. They both loved herbology and astronomy—Zacharias said they would open a shop in Diagon Alley when they graduated and that they would sell plants that blossomed in the dark. That they would open a restaurant on the roof that was only open at night so people could come to watch the stars.

Zacharias was everything that Millicent had ever wanted. He taught her all love could be; he made her feel as though the world could fall away and she would still be okay. Pansy said it was stupid to love someone more than you loved yourself. But she couldn’t help it. 

Plus, what did Pansy know anyways, trailing after Draco all day like a lovesick puppy. And at least Zacharias loved Millicent back. 

She opted for a white turtleneck underneath the dress, hoping to fend off the cold that seeped through the cracks in the old manor walls from the snow. She tried smoothing down her hair in the mirror, her wild curls that Zacharias so adored falling wildly around her face.

“Millicent!” She heard her mother call from the bottom of the stairs. “Our guests are here!”

Hopefully her hair was alright. Millicent quickly applied a bit of lip gloss before rushing down the stairs. She hadn’t been able to write Zacharias all summer as her mother had forbade her from writing any boys, claiming that it was “not proper”. 

“I thought I told you to braid your hair so that it wasn’t in your face,” her mother chastised as they walked towards the doors of the living room. 

“I thought he might like it better this way,” Millicent defended. 

Her mother just shook her head, pushing the doors in front of them open. Millicent’s eyes quickly scanned the room, wildly searching for the blonde boy. But there was not a single head of blonde hair in the room. She didn’t know what his parents looked like, but she assumed at least one of them would have blonde hair. 

Millicent looked to her mother and then back to the couple speaking with her father.

“Oh Millicent dear, you look lovely,” the woman said to her, pulling her into a hug.

The door on the other side of the room creaked open as Millicent quickly pulled away from the hug, waiting for blonde hair and rosy cheeks to stroll through the door.

Marcus Flint.

He was not blonde. His cheeks were not pink. Millicent hated him with a burning passion. 

“Millicent,” he smirked. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“What are you doing here Marcus?” she spat.

“Millicent!” her mother scolded.

“Haven’t you heard?” Marcus asked, strolling over to place his hands on her shoulders.

He was the quidditch captain, and Millicent had never hated him more because of it. 

* * *

“Millicent!”

She ignored his calls as she made her way to the back of the train. 

“Millie!” Zacharias pushed through the students in the busy corridor. “I know you can hear me!”

“Millicent,” he sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder as he caught up with her. “Why are you ignoring me?” 

“I’m not ignoring you, Zachary,” Millicent mumbled.

“Yes, you are. And you didn’t respond to any of my letters this summer,” Zacharias pressed.

“I-” Millicent shook her head. “I wasn’t allowed to write anyone but Pansy.” 

Zacharias looped a finger under her chin, lifting it as he hunched over to look her in the eyes. 

“What’s wrong, Millicent?”

“Nothing’s-”

“Smith!” Marcus shouted, barreling down the corridor. “I suggest you get your filthy hands off my girlfriend.” 

Zacharias pulled away from Millicent, a confused look on his face. “What’s he talking about, Millie?”

“You haven’t told him?” Marcus asked with a smirk, placing his arm over her shoulders.

“I wasn’t allowed to write to him,” Millicent said, pushing his arm as she focused on her shoes.

“Is that so.” Marcus straightened his robes. “Well in that case, allow me to fill you in, Smith. Millicent and I going to be betrothed this Christmas, so I suggest that you find some other bird to follow around and make dumb promises to, alright?”

Millicent’s eyes snapped up to glare at Marcus.

“She’s not a bird,” Zacharias said, stepping forward to press his finger into Marcus’s chest. “And they are not dumb.”

“That so?” Marcus chuckled, wrapping his arm around Millicent’s shoulders once again.  
“Well, fair enough. We’ll be going now, if you don’t mind.” 

“I’ll see you on the pitch, Zacharias,” he added, pulling Millicent along with him towards the Slytherin car. 

Millicent turned to see Zacharias wave at her with a sad smile. 

* * *

Millicent watched as Marcus pinned the results of the quidditch trials to the notice board in the Slytherin common room before turning to look at his housemates lounging about. 

“The 1995-1996 Slytherin Quidditch team has been decided and been approved, no changes can be made, and I won’t hear any complaints,” Marcus announced with a smirk.

Millicent felt that tryouts had gone well; she knew she was a good flyer, she’d definitely make a better seeker than Draco. Too bad his father bought the team the newest brooms every year. Surely she’d at least made chaser. Millicent was at least as good as Adrian and much better than Cassius. It should be her, Astrid and Adrian, since Marcus was captain and couldn’t kick himself off… 

She hurriedly made her way over to list crowding behind her housemates.

Seeker:  
Draco Malfoy  
Chasers:  
Marcus Flint*  
Adrian Pucey  
Cassius Warrington  
Beaters:  
Vincent Crabbe  
Gregory Goyle  
Keeper:  
Miles Bletchley

Her name wasn’t on the list.

She felt someone squeeze her shoulder comfortingly as she stood unmoving the rest of the crowd slowly dispersing.

“Are you serious, Flint!” she heard a girl's voice shout. Probably Astrid, she wagered.

Millicent couldn’t believe it. Marcus hadn’t given her a spot.

“What's wrong Millie?” Marcus smirked, leaning on the table under the notice board across from her. 

“Why am I not on the team?” she complained.

“Oh Millie-”

“Don't call me that!” she shouted, cutting him off, gaining the attention of the room.

“You’re not on the team because girls don’t belong on the team Mill.” 

“Millicent,” she corrected harshly.

“I don’t put girls on the team because they are a distraction, Millicent,” he spat.

“All the other houses have girls on their teams,'' she pressed.

“Yes,” he agreed. “They do. They also have shite teams.”

“You… you insufferable-”

“That’s enough,” he shouted, cutting her off. “You’ll not be on the quidditch team. I don’t want to hear about this again, from anyone. I will not put girls on the Slytherin quidditch team!” 

* * *

“That’s another 10 points for Hufflepuff!” Lee Jordan’s voice echoed across the pitch. “They’re on a roll today! Slytherin really needs to step their game up, though I'm sure we would all prefer it if they didn’t!”

Zacharias zipped across the pitch, high fiving Ernie Macmillan before a bludger came barreling at him, throwing him off his broom and sending him hurtling towards the ground. Millicent jumped to her feet, hurrying down to the pitch where he hit the ground with an awful crunch. 

She could hear Marcus laughing with his teammates as from above her.

“Zacharias!” she shouted as she tried to step onto the pitch only to be held back by Professor Slughorn.

“He’ll be alright, dear.” He tried to comfort her.

“Let me go see him,” she protested, trying to wriggle out of his grip. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, only players are allowed on the pitch. Why don’t you go meet him at the infirmary? I’m sure he’ll be there soon.”

“Millicent,” Marcus shouted down at her, “tell him I said good game, but that there are just some people who aren’t meant to win.”

* * *

This was not the way she had wanted her wedding to be, her husband less than tolerable. The past four years had felt like a dream. She had always been able to pretend that it would all fall away, that everything with Marcus was simply a dream. 

But as she stood in the small garden, tucked away at the center of their hedge maze a white gown draped around her, it was clear that reality had caught up with her.

The cold whipped around her. She swore it was calling her name as she collapsed on a bench behind her. How had this happened? Millicent wondered, burying her face in her palms. She had thought that maybe after the war, her parents would see sense and allow her to marry who she pleased. But instead they had only become more insistent.

“Millie,” A voice called. “Mills, are you alright?”

Zacharias. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder taking the seat next to her.

“It was a lovely ceremony, Mill.” he assured her.

“No, it wasn’t,” Millicent laughed. “Oh god, it was horrible. I wonder who looked the most upset with having to be there.”

“Your parents seemed to be enjoying themselves,” Zacharias chuckled. 

“Oh god.” 

“It wasn’t that bad. I’ve seen worse,” he added, trying to comfort her.

“Really? Who?”

“Draco and Astoria’s wedding. That was pretty bad.” Zacharias recalled.

Millicent giggled tucking her face into Zacharias’ neck, her tears, now forgotten, soaking into his suit.

“Draco looked like he’d rather have pitched himself from the astronomy tower, and, well, Astoria looked like she’d smelt something fowl the entire time,” Zacharias continued smoothing down her windswept hair.

“Wait, you were at Draco’s wedding and I didn’t see you? Why were you even there?”

“I have no idea why there were so many people. Half the wizarding world must have gone—only the best for a Malfoy, I guess. But, yes, I was there with Ernie. Daphne invited him and he said there was no way he could go on his own.”

“Perhaps they thought having more guests would distract from how much Draco and Astoria didn’t want to be there.”

“They should have suggested the idea to your parents,” Zacharias teased.

“Don’t be mean,” Millicent laughed.

“Never,” he responded, crossing his heart as he joined in with her laughter.

* * *

Millicent pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, its golden color a sharp contrast to the snow that covered Diagon Alley. Most of the shops were closing up for the night, but up ahead across from the bright orange monstrosity that was Weasleys Wizard Wheezes was Midnight and Marigolds.

Zacharias had opened his shop just like he had always told Millicent he would. The fairy lights that adorned the roof were hard to make out in the rapidly falling snow but she hurried in their direction. 

It was January 12th. Zacharias’ birthday. Every year she’d make sure to clear her schedule for today. He would close the shop for the night, they would eat dinner on the roof, and he would give her a new plant to take home, even though it was his birthday.

His birthday was her favorite day of the year, the day she could pretend that Marcus didn’t exist, that she had everything she had ever wanted. 

The warmth of the shop swept over her as she opened the door, pulling her in.

“Millie, is that you?” Zacharias called from the store room, “I’ll be right there—I'm trying to set up the gift Fred and George brought by. How are-”

His voice was cut off by a small explosion.

“Why do you still accept their gifts?” Millicent laughed. “It’s always a prank.”

“That's just how they show they care,” he chuckled, pushing past the Maltese Rose that grew over the doorway, wiping at the green powder that covered his face.

“Sure it is.” Millicent shook her head.

“Looking as gorgeous as ever, Millie,” Zacharias mused, crossing the room to where she was standing.

“Wish I could say the same for you. Looking a bit sickly today, aren’t we?” 

“That’s not very nice,” he complained, holding out his hand for her bag which he placed on a table near the door. 

“How has business been?” Millicent asked as he began to help her take off her cloak.

His fingers were warm against the nape of her neck as he held the cloak’s collar, his other hand slipping down her arm to pull the sleeve allowing her to wiggle out of it. 

The breath that slipped past his lips ghosted across her jaw with a soft sigh.

“It’s been good, the usual, lovely, but something is always missing. I’ve tried switching the menu, I brought in more plants… The herbology professor at Castelobruxo sent some of her favorites. They’ve been doing quite well. People love those, rare you know, not something just anyone can have ... Malfoy spent quite a bit of money on some a few weeks ago.” 

“It doesn't sound like you’re missing anything Zacharias,” Millicent said as he hung her cloak heading up to the roof patio. “It sounds perfect. I know it’s perfect.” 

“It’s always perfect to you,” he smiled following her up the steps. 

“It’s always perfect because of you,” Zacharias whispered to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> brought to you by: dahlia


End file.
